Today’s news from Japan is far worse than yesterday’s reports. Another explosion, this one stronger than those before it, appears to have damaged a unit 2 reactor, creating the potential of a breach through which radioactive steam and water might escape. The government is now warning that radiation around the reactor has reached potentially harmful levels. A new fire in reactor 4 is further complicating efforts to reduce the risk of a full-fledged nuclear catastrophe.

Back in Canada, if Monday’s 20-plus announcements — including $88 million for the forestry sector — weren’t enough to overload election sensors, the Harper government plans to double that today. Words of the day? Knowledge Infrastructure. Of the 40 announcements in ten provinces today, 19 are return visits to Knowledge Infrastructure announcements, which were part of the government’s economic action plan. But don’t hold your breath that this is new money. For the most part, the Conservatives are dusting off novelty cheques and reminding constituents which government brought them home the bacon.

Eastern Quebec remains a focus of the government’s election strategy, which explains the long list of announcements planned for this week in Beauce, La Pocatiere, and Thetford Mines. Heritage Minister James Moore is looking to shore up support around St. Hyacinthe with funding for the arts. For a second day in a row, the federal government will announce funds for a local snowmobile club, this time in St. Sebastien, northeast of Sherbrooke.

The government will also make two large housing announcements in southern Ontario, one in London and another in Scarborough.

It might be a pre-emptive move or simply a self-inflicted wound in the lead up to an election, but it was revealed Monday that Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose asked the Mounties to probe the actions of Sebastien Togneri, a former aide to Ambrose’s predecessor Christian Paradis. Togneri intervened in the release of documents that had been requested by Canadian Press journalists under access to information rules.

Another strange bit of potential self-inflicted damage comes from Michael Ignatieff. The Liberal leader, who insists he doesn’t listen to polls, went against all national polling that consistently calls for strong financial stewardship and restraint in spending. Ignatieff announced that, were his party in office, the Liberals would provide federal funds toward a new arena for Quebec City. The Conservatives wasted no time in trying to score points. “He wants to subsidize professional sports teams that are owned by billionaires who hire millionaires. It’s just outrageous,” Conservative MP and Government House Leader John Baird said.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be in Surrey, B.C. today, along with Stockwell Day and a group of Conservative MPs, first stopping at the local RCMP detachment before moving to a local hotel ballroom for another announcement.

Also in B.C., today is the first full day on the job for Premier Christy Clark and her new 17-member cabinet. The premier, who has yet to win a seat in the legislature, has dumped Colin Hansen, the unpopular finance minister responsible for introducing the dreaded HST.

In what might have been one of the worst-kept secrets in Canadian political history, Gary Mar announced he will return from his posting in Washington, D.C. to vie for the leadership of the Alberta PC party. Mar, a former health and education minister in the Klein era, is considered an urban moderate in the party that is finding itself torn apart along urban-rural lines and pressures from the Wildrose Alliance to move to a more conservative, small-government platform.